Another Northwest Convert

It seems more and more people are discovering that the Pacific Northwest is the best place to live. The latest are our friends Jamie & Torsten, who have decided to move to Portland from their current residence in the Boston area. We had dinner in Portland with them on their last trip, and this time they took a break from their house hunting to bring their two daughters to our place for dinner.

While on a walk around the property, the elder daughter - Katja - became enthralled with the deer skull that we found on our property earlier this year. She proceeded to carry the skull around in front of her by the antlers, occasionally making growling sounds and shaking the skull.

But by far the funniest story involves our walk along the river. Both Katja and Marta seem to be at a stage where they enjoy throwing things into the river and watching them float downstream. (Actually, I think I'm at that stage, too... but I digress.) We explained that this river (the White Salmon) flows into the Columbia River, which then flows into the Pacific Ocean. And since they were going to the Oregon Coast later in their trip, they might actually be able to retrieve some of the things she threw into the river. Katja became very excited and decided to throw a small Ponderosa branch into the river to see if she could find it on the beach.

Fast forward to the next day, when Torsten surreptitiously drops a small Ponderosa branch (gathered on our property) on to the beach, followed by a screaming Katja: "I found it!" Kids are so fun (and gullible.)



Somehow we managed to not take any photos of Jamie and Torsten. But since they'll be a lot closer very soon, I'm sure we can make that up on their next trip.

- Mike (& Corinne)